If you have ever played blackjack, roulette, bingo or poker or placed a bet on a sport event through your tablet, smartphone or other mobile device with a wireless internet connection you have already enjoyed the convenience of mobile gambling. Never before have people had the opportunity to reach their favourite form of entertainment so easily, and while this fact is a bad thing for a minority of unfortunate gamblers who have to deal with a compulsive disorder, it is absolutely welcomed by professional gamblers as well as by the vast majority of recreational gamblers who love to spend some of their spare time with the fun, excitement and thrill that gambling games can offer. Wherever you are, there may be a mobile game to help you pass some otherwise boring moments, like the waiting at the bus station or at the airport, or that even more annoying visit at the doctor’s office.

As mobile casinos increase in number also the incentives they offer, whether they are cash bonuses or other kind of promotions, increase as well. The good thing is that you can take advantage of them all, but always make sure that you are dealing with a legitimate licensed operator and that gambling is legal where you are.

Mobile Gaming – An Overview

Analyses of financial data carried out in the global iGaming industry have shown that in 2014 there has been a market growth in all its forms including social gambling with the exception of poker.

A recent analysis conducted by the team of Newzoo predicts that 2015 will be the year in which the value of the mobile gaming market will experience a percentage increase greater than that of all other gaming sectors. In particular according to the projections of the “Global Games Market Report” of Newzoo, the estimated total value of the industry that revolves around the mobile games is $25 billion for 2014, that is 42% more than the values of 2013. The company believes that the sector’s growth is linked not only to an increased flows of revenue from markets of developing countries, i.e. South-East Asian markets and China, with Japanese market experiencing strong growth in iOS and Android game revenues too, but also from those markets considered saturated by many industry experts, i.e. the Western countries, firstly US.

The team leader of Newzoo, Vincent van Deelen, in a recent press release provided more insights into the positive trend in the industry pointing out that: “the recent results of individual high profile companies such as Rovio, King, DeNA and GREE are not necessarily indicative of the state of the mobile market as a whole. It is not in our interest to inflate market figures, but the hard facts have forced us to adjust our estimates upward. We have maintained our year-on-year growth rates toward 2017, ultimately leading to a $40Bn+ market in 2017“.

The continued growth of the mobile gaming market keeps representing a threat to the more traditional retailers, but can also bring great opportunities. Many publishers are making headway in the mobile markets, which is witnessing an increase in its users, making dwarfs the market for consoles and handhelds. For example, revenues from games of Apple rose to $4 billion in 2014, about twice as much as those of Nintendo. And at present Apple continues to lead in terms of income and revenue from mobile gaming, just a step above the antagonists of Mountain View, where Google Play store was expected to close 2014 with total sales around 3 billion dollars.

Further analysis in particular shows that Eastern market looks very strong with Japan and China taking positions #2 and #3 respectively by downloads and revenue on the App Store in Q3 of 2014. On Google play, Japan took the first position by revenue from the US, while South Korea reached third place before Taiwan. Brazil and India were other interesting markets with their positions #2 and #3 by downloads on Google Play respectively.

The mobile gambling industry is in many areas still dealing with regulation issues, but nevertheless it is developing at fast pace. The overall picture is quite clear – there are two concurrent factors to the exponential expansion of mobile games, there is a mobile technology that is reaching the highest levels of quality, reliability and security on one side and there is a younger population, acquainted with the mobile world and its dynamics, that is growing and prefers to be mobile on the other.